Publications by authors named "Chiara Agrati"

Immunocompromised children are at risk of developing severe COVID-19 infection. We conducted a pilot prospective study to evaluate the impact of cancer treatment and stem cell transplantation on immunogenicity of two doses of BNT162b2 vaccine in pediatric patients. Humoral, B- and T-cell responses to the BNT162b2 vaccine were assessed before, after the first and the second dose in patients aged 5-12 years (n = 35) and in a group of healthy donors (HD, n = 12).

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Sarcomas are rare, mesenchymal tumors, representing about 10-15% of all childhood cancers. GD2 is a suitable target for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy due to its overexpression in several solid tumors. In this preclinical study, we investigated the potential use of iCasp9.

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Article Synopsis
  • γδ T-cells play a crucial role in immune surveillance following HLA-Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplantation (haplo-HSCT), especially in pediatric patients.
  • A study showed that a specific subset of Vδ2 T-cells is associated with better antiviral protection, as these cells were more prevalent in patients who did not experience viral reactivation.
  • The research highlights how Vδ2 T-cells can inhibit CMV replication and enhance the immune response, suggesting their potential use in immunotherapy post-transplantation to combat both infections and tumors.
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Background: Pre-exposure vaccination with MVA-BN has been widely used against mpox to contain the 2022 outbreak. Many countries have defined prioritized strategies, administering a single dose to those historically vaccinated for smallpox, to achieve quickly adequate coverage in front of low supplies. Using epidemiological models, real-life effectiveness was estimated at approximately 36%-86%, but no clinical trials were performed.

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Background: During HIV infection, effective combined antiretroviral therapy suppresses viral replication and restores the number of circulating CD4+ T cells. However, 15%-30% of treated patients show a discordant response to combined antiretroviral therapy. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are expanded in HIV+ patients; to better understand the role of MDSC on CD4 T-cell recovery, we evaluated the frequency of MDSC in HIV+ patients under combined antiretroviral therapy and its association with immunologic response.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the decline of immune responses in people living with HIV (PLWH) after vaccination and booster doses, focusing on those with low CD4 counts (≤200 cells/mm).
  • It measured neutralizing antibodies and T cell responses at multiple time points to assess the effectiveness of the primary vaccine cycle and booster dose.
  • Results showed that those with low CD4 counts experienced a more significant drop in neutralizing antibodies, but booster doses increased these levels and maintained them longer against certain variants, even though T cell responses remained detectable across all groups.
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: We aimed to analyse the incidence and severity of breakthrough infections (BIs) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients after a COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination booster dose. : We enrolled 194 RA patients and 1002 healthcare workers (HCWs) as controls. Clinical, lifestyle and demographic factors were collected at the time of the third dose, and immunogenicity analyses were carried out in a subgroup of patients at 4-6 weeks after the third dose.

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COVID-19 patients show characteristic over-expression of different cytokines that may interfere with the interferon (IFN) response, delaying its production. Within the overexpressed cytokines, IL-8 plays a key role, and it may impede IFN-I activation. PBMC from eight healthy donors were exposed to 2019-nCoV/Italy-INMI1 isolate and supernatants/cells were collected at different time points; the production of either IFN-alpha or IL-8 was assessed.

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Article Synopsis
  • * This case is unique as it documents necrotizing mpox in an individual with advanced HIV, with the virus persisting for over 11 months and extensive immunological analysis performed.
  • * The study highlights that severe immune deficiency and co-infections may weaken immune responses, necessitating further research on immune reactions to monkeypox in immunosuppressed individuals to enhance treatment and prevention strategies.
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Introduction: Assessing the response to vaccinations is one of the diagnostic criteria for Common Variable Immune Deficiencies (CVIDs). Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 offered the unique opportunity to analyze the immune response to a novel antigen. We identify four CVIDs phenotype clusters by the integration of immune parameters after BTN162b2 boosters.

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This study characterizes antibody and T-cell immune responses over time until the booster dose of COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in patients with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) undergoing different disease-modifying treatments (DMTs). We prospectively enrolled 134 PwMS and 99 health care workers (HCWs) having completed the two-dose schedule of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine within the last 2-4 weeks (T0) and followed them 24 weeks after the first dose (T1) and 4-6 weeks after the booster (T2). PwMS presented a significant reduction in the seroconversion rate and anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD)-Immunoglobulin (IgG) titers from T0 to T1 ( < 0.

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Background: Vaccine-induced SARS-CoV-2-anti-spike antibody (anti-S/RBD) titers are often used as a marker of immune protection and to anticipate the risk of breakthrough infections, although no clear cut-off is available. We describe the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine breakthrough infections in COVID-19-free personnel of our hospital, according to B- and T-cell immune response elicited one month after mRNA third dose vaccination.

Methods: The study included 487 individuals for whom data on anti-S/RBD were available.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The immune response to pathogens involves a complex interplay of cells and signals that must be balanced for effective and persistent protection; however, emerging viral infections can lead to dysregulated responses, resulting in severe outcomes like cytokine storms.
  • - Immunocompromised individuals, including transplant recipients and those with primary immune deficiencies, face unique risks, as their weakened immune systems may offer inadequate protection while also affecting disease progression.
  • - This review focuses on emerging infections in immunocompromised patients, discussing how their immune responses influence disease severity, the role of persistent viral shedding in creating new viral strains, and the importance of vaccination in these vulnerable groups.
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  • Weaker immune responses were observed in liver transplant recipients after receiving just two doses of anti-SARS-CoV2 vaccination, prompting a study on the effects of a third dose.
  • In a study involving 122 liver transplant recipients, significant improvements in both humoral (antibodies) and cell-mediated (T-cell activity) immune responses were noted after the third vaccine dose, with 86.4% of previously non-responding patients showing a positive response.
  • Factors such as shorter time since transplantation were linked to reduced immune responses, while the presence of mycophenolate mofetil did not negatively impact the response rates; 60% of patients maintained protective antibodies against the Omicron variant 12 weeks post-third dose
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Introduction: Immunocompromised patients have been shown to have an impaired immune response to COVID-19 vaccines.

Methods: Here we compared the B-cell, T-cell and neutralizing antibody response to WT and Omicron BA.2 SARS-CoV-2 virus after the fourth dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in patients with hematological malignancies (HM, n=71), solid tumors (ST, n=39) and immune-rheumatological (IR, n=25) diseases.

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Background: Lymphopenia, particularly when restricted to the T-cell compartment, has been described as one of the major clinical hallmarks in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and proposed as an indicator of disease severity. Although several mechanisms fostering COVID-19-related lymphopenia have been described, including cell apoptosis and tissue homing, the underlying causes of the decline in T-cell count and function are still not completely understood.

Objective: Given that viral infections can directly target thymic microenvironment and impair the process of T-cell generation, we sought to investigate the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on thymic function.

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SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines prevent severe COVID-19 by generating immune memory, comprising specific antibodies and memory B and T cells. Although children are at low risk of severe COVID-19, the spreading of highly transmissible variants has led to increasing in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations also in the youngest, but vaccine coverage remains low. Immunogenicity to mRNA vaccines has not been extensively studied in children 5 to 11 years old.

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Background: The decline of humoral response to COVID-19 vaccine led to authorise a booster dose. Here, we characterised the kinetics of B-cell and T-cell immune responses in patients with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) after the booster dose.

Methods: We enrolled 22 PwMS and 40 healthcare workers (HCWs) after 4-6 weeks from the booster dose (T3).

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Background: An unprecedented global monkeypox outbreak started in May, 2022. No data are yet available about the dynamics of the immune response against monkeypox virus. The aim of this study was to describe kinetics of T-cell response, inflammatory profile, and pox-specific T-cell induction in patients with laboratory-confirmed monkeypox.

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Most patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 display mild symptoms with good prognosis, while 20% of patients suffer from severe viral pneumonia and up to 5% may require intensive care unit (ICU) admission due to severe acute respiratory syndrome, which could be accompanied by multiorgan failure.Plasma proteomics provide valuable and unbiased information about disease progression and therapeutic candidates. Recent proteomic studies have identified molecular changes in plasma of COVID-19 patients that implied significant dysregulation of several aspects of the inflammatory response accompanied by a general metabolic suppression.

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Importance: Despite people with impaired immune competence due to an underlying disease or ongoing therapy, hereinafter frail patients, are (likely to be) the first to be vaccinated, they were usually excluded from clinical trials.

Objective: To report adverse reactions of frail patients after receipt of the third dose (booster) administered after completion of a two-dose mRNA vaccination and to compare with those reported after the receipt of the first two doses.

Design: A multicenter, observational, prospective study aimed at evaluating both the safety profile and the immune response of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines in frail patients.

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Objectives: To characterize the kinetics of humoral and T-cell responses in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-patients followed up to 4-6 weeks (T3) after the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine booster dose.

Methods: Health care workers (HCWs, n = 38) and patients with RA (n = 52) completing the messenger RNA vaccination schedule were enrolled at T3. In each cohort, 25 subjects were sampled after 5 weeks (T1) and 6 months (T2) from the first vaccine dose.

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Background: The contemporaneous presence of immune defects and heart diseases in patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.3DS) might represent risk factors for severe coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19).

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Article Synopsis
  • Development of new vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 aims to improve availability in low-income areas, despite existing effective vaccines.
  • A study tracked immune responses in young and old volunteers after receiving the GRAd-COV2 vaccine, showing strong antibody and T-cell responses that were maintained for 3 months but declined by 6 months.
  • GRAd-COV2 demonstrated good safety and immune response, making it a promising candidate for further clinical development as part of the COVID-19 vaccination strategy.
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